Ljubljana - The newspaper Delo criticises Prime Minister Janez Janša over his call for an independent inquiry into the 1988 massacre in Iran, writing in Tuesday's front-page commentary that the timing and the manner were ill-chosen, and suggesting Janša lacks the credibility to defend human rights elsewhere.

The paper writes that it become clear Janša's second spell at the helm of the EU presiding country will be a "sequence of provoked affairs and scandals" on the first day of Slovenia's presidency when Janša showed photos serving his domestic political interests to the College of European Commissioners.

"Without wanting to deny Janša the right to criticise the brutal violation of human rights, the timing and the manner of his intervention were ill-picked, while at the same time it was completely out of coordination with Slovenia's foreign policy and European efforts to revive the Iranian nuclear deal.

"These are very complex geopolitical issues that call for a sophisticated approach. However, Janša approached the diplomatic table seeking a balance between the security dilemmas of the Iranian nuclear programme and the self-preserving aspirations of a regime that massively violates human rights with a sledge hammer."

Commenting on the Foreign Ministry's response about Slovenia and the EU being committed to advocacy of human rights, democracy and the rule of law around the world, Delo says Janša would be much more credible in his Iran comments if he were guided by such a commitment in his relationship with the Viktor Orbán regime in Hungary.

"But it is hard to expect something like that from a politician who does not understand the universal democratic message of Sunday's waters act referendum," Delo concludes under the headline When Janša Defends Human Rights Worldwide.